Quiet Quitting by Jim Stovall

Photo by Johnny Cohen on Unsplash

Recently, there’s been a phenomenon arising throughout social media that has come to be known as quiet quitting. As in most things, there are two sides to the story.  There are people who simply do the minimum required by their job and will not consider achieving anything above and beyond the role they were hired to do. Then, there are those people who reject the notion of being required to do extra work without extra pay, recognition, or overtime compensation. 

First and foremost, I would say all employers should treat employees the way they, themselves, would like to be treated. We succeed in business by providing quality goods and services to our customers, and that cannot happen without fully engaged and committed employees. 

For workers, the concept of quiet quitting can be counterproductive and even harmful. Beyond the fact that you are hurting the organization you work for, you are hurting yourself. I’ve long believed that the way we do anything is the way we do everything. You can’t expect to have a mediocre, lackluster, or minimal performance in your career and then expect to have a great personal life or family life. 

I’m a huge fan of the transformational writer Napoleon Hill. One of his most impactful success principles involves going the extra mile. Dr. Hill did not advise his followers to exceed expectations merely so they would do work for which they were not specifically paid. On the contrary, he believed that going the extra mile represented the key to professional and personal success and happiness. The quickest way to get a better job is to do a better job. 

Whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, financial success often comes down to doing work you don’t get paid for so that someday you get paid for work you didn’t do. Regardless of their motives, those individuals who associate with the quiet quitters and are publicly posting online need to remember that we become like the people we hang around with and that current employers, future employers, and associates follow social media, too. 

It’s very important that we all thoughtfully consider how we identify ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world. The concept of doing the least possible to just get by will not serve you or those around you well. 

As you go through your day today, go the extra mile and reap the rewards. 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). His new book, Words That Shaped Our World: Legendary Voices of History: Quotes That Changed How We Think, What We Do, and Who We Are, coauthored with Kathy Johnson, is now available for preorder from Sound Wisdom.